When Maryland officials promote plans to build a $1.68 billion Purple Line between Bethesda and New Carrollton, they often tout the power of light rail lines to transform older, struggling areas into thriving new hubs of transit-focused development. ...Read On

The recent transit cutbacks in St. Louis are having impacts well beyond
the riders themselves -- a surprise for many who didn't realize the
connection between the economy and a good public transit system.....

If we can learn from history, attention
should be paid to Black Bart. The legendary gentleman stagecoach bandit
robbed only the strong boxes, not the passengers. He was always polite,
apologized for any inconvenience, and even left a poem on his
departure. Many call eminent domain robbery, which may be true; but
what is inarguable is that government taking of private property should
be polite and, above all, financially fair to the victims of
"progress."...

It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma! Bay Area band
The Parents recorded a fun little ditty (Warning: It will get stuck in
your head) called "We took the BART." You can get the band's MP3 file
of the song here . Then a video set to the song popped up on YouTube,
but the band didn't make the video and doesn't know who did. They're OK
with it, though....
Read On

Metro light rail is considering whether to
sell naming rights for its stations, trains and even the entire 20-mile
system. A committee on Wednesday unanimously recommended to Metro's
board pursuing the idea of "system naming rights," similar to what
sports franchises do with stadiums....

The effectiveness of transit is typically measured by ridership – ridership projections, for example, often determine whether a project will win federal funding. But the complex movements of people within a region make accurate predictions difficult. Indeed, three of the most successful lines that have opened since 2003 (Minneapolis, Denver’s Southeast line, and Los Angeles Orange BRT line) received only a medium-low rating from the Federal Transit Administration, and under current rules would not have been funded.

The effectiveness of transit is typically measured by ridership – ridership projections, for example, often determine whether a project will win federal funding. But the complex movements of people within a region make accurate predictions difficult. Indeed, three of the most successful lines that have opened since 2003 (Minneapolis, Denver’s Southeast line, and Los Angeles Orange BRT line) received only a medium-low rating from the Federal Transit Administration, and under current rules would not have been funded.

The emergence of new bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in recent years has prompted transit agencies across North America to establish new and unique identity programs that communicate various benefits of improved bus service. These identities and brands, however, rely largely on perception and emotional reaction, which are difficult to quantify. This lack of “hard data” makes the efficacy of identity systems and expenditures on them difficult to assess. This evaluation of 22 BRT identity programs examines the typical constructs used to establish BRT identity: visual identifiers, nominal identifiers, and color palette. Through analysis of these constructs, we find that when deployed consistently across a range of media, BRT identity may help to further build and reinforce a positive perception of BRT service and, by extension, a positive public image for public transit in general. We conclude that BRT identity must be flexible in design to accommodate future needs, plans for…